Many tech updates for the home can actually save you money over time, which is why they can be such a great investment. You may even want to take out a loan for updates. It’s typical for a hard money lender to offer a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio between 60% and 80%. What kinds of updates should you be making? These state-of-the-art tech updates are all worth investing in.
1. Smart Thermostats
Modern smart thermostats are a big upgrade from the programmable thermostats of the past! What’s particularly great about a smart thermostat is that it’s capable of learning a household’s patterns. This means homeowners can cut back energy costs even if they don’t monitor their thermostats closely.
In addition, smart thermostats can provide energy reports that let you see how much energy you’re currently using. Upgrading to one of these thermostats can help you to change your habits and find ways to reduce your energy costs.
2. Smart Door Locks
With smart door locks, it’s much easier to keep a house secure. These locks can be connected to mobile devices, allowing you to unlock and lock doors when you’re not there. This feature can be very helpful if there are people in your family that are in the habit of forgetting your keys.
Many smart locks also allow you to assign passcodes to doors. You can even set temporary codes if you need to let someone in once. Smart locks also allow you to monitor when your door is locked or unlocked, which makes it easy to notice security breaches when they happen.
3. Smart Refrigerators
Produce was only able to travel around 50 miles from farms before refrigeration. Now, refrigerators can keep your food fresh for much longer. Smart refrigerators can even be synced with mobile devices, allowing you to monitor your fridge when you’re out of the house. With a smart fridge, you can keep track of expiration dates and make sure you use foods before they expire. Many fridges even make it easy for you to build shopping lists! Best of all, most smart refrigerators can lower your energy costs.
4. Smart Lighting
Having a smart lighting system will give you more control over the lights in your household. Instead of getting out of bed when you’ve forgotten to turn a light off, you can switch it off right from a connected mobile device. Over time, this can help you to reduce your energy usage. Since smart lighting systems typically use LED lights, they’re very energy efficient. Some smart lights can be triggered by motion, which means they can even be a security measure.
While smart lights have practical benefits, they can be a lot of fun as well. With a smart system, you can change the colors of lights and even have the option of syncing lights to music.
5. Multi-Stage HVAC Systems
Air temperatures are rising, which is why you need an air conditioner that will keep your household cool! Data shows that in 2017, worldwide demand for AC units rose all the way to 111 million! While there are many ways to heat and cool your home, multi-stage HVAC systems are an especially good option.
A single-stage system operates at full power when it’s trying to heat up or cool down a house, then quickly shuts down. This can cause temperatures to shift rapidly. However, multi-stage systems offer different levels of heating and cooling, which means they can keep a household at the right temperature without sudden fluctuations.
Smart technology can automate many aspects of your day-to-day life, saving you valuable time. Some of these features can be an investment, but over time, you may discover that the features will pay for themselves! Explore different tech updates so that you can find the best upgrades for you.
